Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698930682760.pdf (Singapore)
THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE FIRST SESSION ORDER PAPER TUESDAY, 16 AUGUST 2016 No.

23 11.00 am QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* *1.
Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) in light of increasing incidents of sexually offensive and 'sexualised' activities during orientation activities at the National University of Singapore over the last decade (a) what are the regulations in place to protect students in our tertiary institutions from physical abuse and harassment; (b) whether these regulations are standardised across our polytechnics and universities; (c) what checks and enforcement are in place to ensure that the regulations are adhered to; (d) how many students or staff have been found guilty and have had to face disciplinary action and how were they punished; and (e) whether any civil or criminal suits had been filed as a result.
*2.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad: To ask the Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) (a) whether the Ministry has a code of conduct to prohibit sexually inappropriate or degrading activities in institutions of higher learning and schools; (b) what measures have been taken to ensure adequate oversight by university staff on students organising such activities; (c) how many complaints has the Ministry received in the past five years and what actions have been implemented to prevent recurrence; and (d) why safeguards have not been put in place to prevent the recent incident in the National University of Singapore.
*3.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) in light of the reports of sexual harassment and abuse during orientation activities at the National University of Singapore (a) whether the Ministry has been monitoring this situation in all our tertiary institutions and keeping track of the number and nature of incidents reported; and (b) whether resources have been provided to our institutions to ensure the safety of our students.

No.

23 16 AUGUST 2016 2 *4.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) with regard to the incidents of sexual harassment and physical abuse during orientation activities at the National University of Singapore (a) what are the existing guidelines for orientation activities and whether students/staffhave been properly advised and guided; (b) how many complaints on such lewd orientation activities has each of our tertiary institutions received annually in the last I 0 years; (c) what measures have been taken by the respective institutions to prevent such abuses by· the students or staff who organised the orientation; and (d) how many students or staff have repeatedly been found to be responsible for such orientation activities.
*5.

Mr Charles Chong: To ask the Minister for National Development what measures the Ministry intends to take to better safeguard public monies and .

residents' service and conservancy payments to Town Councils and to recover any improper past payments made by Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC), especially in light of the July 2016 KPMG report on AHTC's financial controls and systems.

*6.
*6.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Finance whether the lapses and inadequate financial controls reported by the Auditor-General in its Report for FY15/16 uncover any systemic flaws and how will the public sector entities strengthen their management of public resources to prevent future occurrence.

*7.
*7.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Finance whether the Report ofthe Auditor-General for FY15/16 has highlighted any repeated breach of financial regulations by any Ministry and, if so, whether any action will be taken against officers who fail to take remedial action to rectifY the breaches.

*8.
*8.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Transport what are the reasons for L T A or SMR T not releasing public information on the discovery of hairline cracks on the MR T trains in July 2013 and on their subsequent decision to call on the warranty by shipping the affected trains back to the manufacturer's factory for defect rectification works.

*9.
*9.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Transport whether Kawasaki Heavy Industries and· CSR Sifang are liable to compensate L T A and/or SMRT for any loss of use and/or profits (or any other damages suffered) for the downtime of the MRT trains sent back to the manufacturer's factory for rectification in addition to the shipping and defect rectification costs.

No.

23 16 AUGUST 2016 3 *10.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether the hairline cracks found on the car-body bolster of the affected MRT trains were inherent defects from the time LTA and/or SMRT accepted delivery of the trains in 2011 or defects that were manifested through use and subsequently discovered in July 2013; (b) if the hairline cracks were inherent defects, why were the defects not discovered through earlier routine checks; and (c) if these were defects manifested through use, whether LTA engineers expect the hairline cracks to worsen through continued use.
*11.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Transport whether members ofthe Public Transport Council, board members ofSMRT and L T A, and the management of Temasek Holdings were aware of the faults discovered on MR T trains supplied by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and CSR Sifang in 2013 and the subsequent train recall exercise.

*12.
Assoc Prof Daniel Gob Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Transport with regard to the 26 defective MRT trains (a) whether the defects being not "safety-critical" meant that they pose zero safety risks for commuters; (b) why is it most effective for the car-bodies to be entirely replaced when cracks have been found only on the bolsters; (c) what are the risks for cracks to happen on other components of the car-body; and (d) whether the monthly safety assessment is focused only on the found defects or conducted for the entire train.
*13.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what did TUV Rheinland's report on the hairline cracks found on defective MRT trains reveal; and (b) whether the Ministry will make the entire report public in the interest of transparency.

*14.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether the Ministry/LTA was aware of the problems with the MRT trains delivered in 2013 from Kawasaki Heavy Industries and CSR Sifang under a previous contract before placing new orders with the same consortium for more trains in 2014 and 2015; (b) if so, why were further contracts for additional trains extended to the same consortium; (c) whether the Ministry/L T A had evaluated alternative suppliers before placing the new orders in 2014 and 2015; (d) whether there were any changes made to the new contracts with the consortium in 2014 and/or 2015 or any extraordinary quality control measures put in place to ensure that the same problems would not recur; and (e) whether the Ministry/L T A has required the supplier to provide mitigating solutions or compensation for the operational setback.
No.

23 16 AUGUST 2016 4 *15.

Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the total nurriber of MRT trains deployed for operations currently; (b) among these, what percentage of trains are not embarking passengers as they need to be sent back to the manufacturer CSR Sifang for depot-level train repairs due for completion in 20 19; and (c) in what way has this episode affected the Ministry's plans to improve the reliability of the MR T system.

*16.
*16.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Finance whether the outlook of!

ower long-term financial returns as reflected in the annual reports of GIC and Temasek Holdings the Net Investment Returns Contribution from the financial reserves will be lower going forward and whether that will have an impact upon the Government's ability to balance the overall budget and to fund committed long-term programmes.

indicates that *17.
indicates that *17.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Finance (a) whether the Government needs to review its dependence on Net Investment Returns Contributions from Temasek and GIC to fund its budget given the tough investment environment and modest growth prospects; and (b) whether any long-term spending programmes will be affected if long-term returns from both portfolios end up materially lower than in previous periods.

*18.
*18.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what plans does the Ministry have to encourage more adults and the elderly to go for vaccinations in view of local immunisation rates being below 20% for adults and below 10% for those aged 50 to 69; and (b) whether the Ministry can consider allowing Singaporean adults to use Medisave to pay for all types of vaccinations instead of limiting the use of Medisave to the current few types of vaccinations.

*19.
*19.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development how can the Ministry urgently implement and communicate a nationwide action plan to help families in need to apply for the appointment of Deputies for family members who have lost their mental capacity due to accidents, dementia or other disabilities.

*20.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many disputes have been received involving foreign workers and their employers in the past three years; (b) on average, how long does it take for the Ministry to investigate and res0lve a case; (c) what are the options open to either party if they do not find the results of the investigation to be satisfactory; (d) whether there is a deadline after which the employer will not be required to continue paying for the worker's food and accommodation; and (e) what is the longest period so far where a case is unresolved and the employer has to bear the cost of maintaining the worker.
No.

23 16 AUGUST 2016 5 *21.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether there are plans for WDA programmes and initiatives to be extended to university graduates, in particular those who are unemployed; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider more grants and financial aid for older graduates looking to upskill themselves under the full sponsorship of professional conversion programmes.

*22.
*22.

Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the number and trend of child abuse cases that have been reported in the last three years; (b) how many ofthese cases involve the child having to be hospitalised; (c) how many has led to fatality; (d) what improvements have been made to our structure and processes to detect such cases for early intervention; and (e) whether teachers and the public have been educated or trained to look out for cases of child abuse.
*23.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) how will the Ministry ensure that new companies or investments brought into Singapore are aligned to developing a strong Singapore core and progressive workplace practices.

*24.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry will implement a national emissions trading scheme as an instrument for Singapore to meet its COP21 commitments.

*25.
*25.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Prime Minister given SOX's challenges in recent years relating to the quantity and quality of listings, turnover, technical disruptions, risk management, including a half-day disruption on 14 July 2016 (a) whether the Government is optimistic that SOX's performance and reputation can be revived; (b) what role it sees for SOX in broader economic development; and (c) what steps it is taking to work with the SOX management to catalyse the desired outcomes.

*26.
*26.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Prime Minister how the new licensing regime for crowdfunding platforms announced by MAS is expected to support crowdfunding as an alternative source of financing for start-ups and SMEs as well as ensure schemes under crowdfunding are fair, transparent and protect investors against frauds.

*27.
*27.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether there are plans to increase efforts or support for community integration activities at condominiums given the rising trend of rental units and permanent residents residing in these compounds.

a No.

23 16 AUGUST 2016 6 *28.


Dr Lily Neo: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in the past year, how many disputes between co-tenants of HOB rental flats resulted in violence; and (b) whether a review should be carried out to improve the Joint Singles Scheme for the rental of HOB flats.

*29.
*29.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Law (a) how many black and white bungalows are there in Sembawang managed by SLA; (b) how many are currently rented out; (c) what is the Ministry doing to maintain these bungalows some of which are in a state of disrepair; and (d) whether these bungalows will be preserved as part of our heritage.

*30.
*30.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Acting Minister for Education (Schools) what has been the average teacher-student ratios for primary, secondary and junior college levels respectively over the decades of 1970-79, 1980-89, 1990-99, 2000-1 0 and 2011 to date.

*31.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Acting Minister for Education (Schools) (a) how many schools adhere to the Ministry's guideline on giving students and school teachers at least a two-week break during the June school holidays; (b) whether the Ministry can review this guideline to at least a three-week break so that students and school teachers can have more time to rest and bond with their families; and (c) whether a limit can be made to the number of hours a day that a student can spend in school for official remedial classes or co-curricular activities during the school holidays.
*32.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the process for Singaporeans to claim against foreign vehicle owners who are involved in accidents here, including damage to vehicles; (b) on the average, how long does it take to settle such claims; and (c) how can the Ministry assist in simplifYing the process to facilitate easier motor insurance claims for both Singaporean and Malaysian motorists involved in accidents in Singapore.

*33.
*33.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry will strengthen measures to ensure that contractors with renovation permits from HOB adhere to regulations on the appropriate disposal of renovation debris and bulky items; (b) what enforcement measures and resources are deployed in new BTO estates to ensure compliance with such regulations; and (c) what measures will be taken against contractors who are caught illegally dumping such debris.

*34.
*34.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider providing subsidised or free health screening packages for the insured under MediShield Life.

No.

23 16 AUGUST 2016 7 *35.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how is the Ministry training and improving the competency of Home Team officers to collate evidence and tackle online crimes; and (b) whether it is working with the private sector to improve its detection and forensics capabilities.

*36.
*36.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs how many societies have been denied registration by the Registrar of Societies in 2005-2015 and what is the breakdown of cases by different types of reasons for rejection.

*37.
Assoc Prof Daniel Gob Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the breakdown of revenue and expenditure annually for operating HDB residential car parks since 2002; (b) what is the estimated cost savings in outsourcing the operation of Electronic Parking System residential car parks to commercial operators; (c) whether the "right pricing" ofHDB car park fees is based on operating costs and that ofURA is based on private car park fees; and (d) whether HDB and URA fees should be delinked.
*38.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) from 2002 to 2015, what is the total amount of monies spent on the maintenance, repair and upgrading of public car parks vis-a-vis the total revenue collected from parking fees; (b) how is the new parking rate with effect from 1 December 2016 tabulated and derived; and (c) whether the Government is concerned about the effect which an increase on public car park rates will have on private parking rates in malls and offices.
*39.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry can further assist persons with special needs who require replacement for aids such as (i) motorised wheelchairs and (ii) cochlear implants and other hearing aids throughout their lives.

*40.
*40.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry will consider reducing the licensing fee for street hawkers selling tissues to a nominal fee as these hawkers are usually in dire financial situations.

*41.

Ms Joan Pereira: .To ask the Minister for Transport (a) how do the frequency and severity of oil spills on our roads compare with other major cities; and (b) what are the estimated economic losses due to the damage and travel delays caused.
No.

23 16 AUGUST 2016 8 *42.

Mr Gao Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Transport what will be the new model and public transport policy of MRT operations after the acquisition ofSMRT's operating rail assets by LTA on 1 October 2016.

*43.
*43.

Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the number of road accidents related to the use of mobile phones or other personal electronic devices by pedestrians in the last three years; (b) what efforts are made to educate pedestrians on the dangers of using such electronic devices while walking; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider banning the use of personal electronic devices by pedestrians while they are walking or using the roads.

*44.
*44.

Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for National Development whether HDB will include the option to reconstruct apron drains and rescreed void decks under block~related works for Town Councils in its Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) manual.

*45.
*45.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the Government's estimated budget for the Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP) for private estates for the next three years; and (b) what is the schedule for calling for EUP nominations each year.

*46.
*46.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Acting Minister for Education (Schools) whether school~going children of returning Singaporeans from overseas can be allowed to take the school re~admission assessments at the local consulates or embassies where they are presently residing instead of having to travel back to Singapore for the assessments.

*47.
*47.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) (a) what percentage of existing SkillsFuture courses has elements associated with professional skills training; (b) whether customisation of courses is allowed to cater to the needs of different industries; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider a SkillsFuture package tailored for women planning to transit back to the workforce to enable them to have skills that are relevant to current market demand.
*48.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Health how can the Government (i) make professional caregiving for dementia patients more attractive so as to improve the pipeline of professional caregivers; and (ii) provide better training for foreign domestic helpers as many FDWs are neither trained nor mentally prepared to become caregivers for dementia patients.

No.

23 16 AUGUST 2016 9 *49.


Ms K Thanaletchimi: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the career progression of dental surgery assistants can be enhanced and their skills upgraded as part of a strategic manpower plan; (b) whether their jobs can be professionalised through deep skilling; and (c) whether the registration or licensing of dental surgery assistants can be considered.

*50.
*50.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in what contexts do statutory boards, Ministries or other organisations send job applicants' personal data to the Internal Security Department (ISD) or any other designated department for security clearance; and (b) what safeguards are in place to ensure the accuracy of the information collected and used in the security clearance procedure.

*51.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how has the.
income gap been trending over the past five years; (b) what are longer-term strategic plans to narrow the income gap in a sustainable manner; and (c) how many people are in the bottom 20th percentile of household income over the past five years.

*52.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider extending the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme to seniors living in private estates who have no one supporting them and who have little savings.
*53.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider increasing the height and weight allowance for local mixed breed dogs approved for living in HDB flats under the Project ADORE scheme as the majority of dogs in our shelters and from the streets do not currently qualifY for adoption under the scheme.

*54.
*54.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in the last two years, how many home owners have been found to be illegally leasing out their premises to tenants for short-term stays; (b) what actions have been taken against these home owners; and (c) whether an update on URA's review of the short-term rental policy for private residential properties can be provided.

*55.
*55.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for National Development what are the considerations and deliberations behind the decision to convert coupon parking to electronic parking systems within residential neighbourhoods.

No.

23 16 AUGUST 2016 10 *56.


Ms Sun Xueling: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the possibility of collecting back the revenue lost from motorists who evade parking charges; and (b) whether new solutions are being considered to counter manipulation of the carpark system by motorists.

*57.
*57.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Prime Minister (a) how many female pensioners are there currently who have retired before 2005; (b) whether the Ministry will consider extending equal medical benefits to this group of pensioners' dependants especially spouses; and (c) how much is the projected incremental pension expenditure should equal benefits be extended to the pensioners' dependants including spouses.

*58.
*58.

Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Prime Minister (a) how many financial institutions have been investigated from 2013 to 2016 for bypassing loan restrictions on motor vehicles; and (b) whether there are any plans to tighten the regulations to effectively authenticate the purchase price of motor vehicles stated in the loan agreements.

*59.
*59.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) when will LTA be installing its next batch of noise barriers for MRT tracks; and (b) whether these barriers will be installed in the Nee Soon South constituency and, if so, where will these noise barriers be located and how long will it take to complete the installation.

*60.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport with the announcement of the US Department of Justice's investigations into lMDB and the ongoing investigations by MAS, AGC and CAD of various lMDB related fund flows through Singapore for possible securities fraud, cheating and money laundering offences (a) whether the Government should be concerned about Bandar Malaysia as the terminus of the High Speed Rail (HSR), being a lMDB project; and (b) what contingencies are in place to ensure that the project will proceed with no delay and losses.
*61.

Ms K Tbanaletchimi: To ask the Minister for Health with the infrastructure expansion plans of current and future healthcare institutions, how will the expansion be funded so that the remuneration of health care staff will not be affected when the healthcare clusters have to dig into their reserves to fund current excess capacities.

* Members may postpone their Questions to a later sitting day if their Questions are not reached by the end of Question Time.
The postponement forms are available at the Chamber entrances.

To ensure timely notice of such postponements, Members should submit their notices to the Clerk by 1.30 pm.

Questions will be given a written answer if no such notices are received by the Clerk.

No.

23 16 AUGUST 2016 11 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

1.

2.

3.

ORDERS OF THE DAY Singapore Workforce Development Agency (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

19/20 16] - (Minister for Manpower) - Second Reading.

SkillsFuture Singapore Agency Bill [Bill No.


24/2016]- (Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills))- Second Reading.

Employment Claims Bill [Bill No.

20/2016] - - Second Reading.

(Minister for Manpower) Info-communications Media Development Authority Bill [Bill No.

21/2016] (Minister for Communications and Information)- Second Reading.

Government Technology Agency Bill [Bill No.

22/2016] - Communications and Information)- Second Reading.
(Minister for QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether the Ministry has carried out any studies as well as medium-to-long-term projections on the commuter usage patterns oftaxis and private hire cars; (b) if so, whether these findings or projections can be shared with the public; and (c) if no such studies or projections have been made, whether the Ministry will conduct such studies or projections.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) since 2011, how many resident workers have been offered re-employment contracts upon reaching retirement age; (b) of these, how many have received a reduction in wages and other remuneration despite having no change in job scope or responsibilities; (c) what has been the average reduction in wages and other remuneration; and (d) how does the Ministry ensure that employers do not unfairly reduce wages of workers reaching retirement age even though there is no change in their productivity and performance.
Mr Leon Perera: To- ask the Minister for Manpower from 2010 to 2015, what has been the median, mean, 1Oth percentile and 90th percentile total amount of money in individual CPF accounts when those individuals became deceased in each of those years.

i ' I I No.

23 16 AUGUST 2016 12 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.


Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Manpower what is the number of intra-company transferees from India that have been approved under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with India from the year when the agreement came into effect to the latest year for which data is available.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad: To ask the Minister for Manpower with regard to the case where an employee of Harry's International Pte Ltd was caught with falsely declaring information on hiring 20 employment pass (EP) holders (a) what are the criteria which the company met to get approval for 20 EP applications; and (b) what safeguards are in place to ensure that lack of quota for EP holders in the firm is not abused.
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will review the yearly cap on the use of Medisave in line with inflation of medication costs and increases in treatment costs for common chronic diseases such that 90% of costs can be met with Medisave.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Finance (a) since the inception of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, are there any infrastructure projects being planned; (b) what can local companies do to tap on the benefits that come with Singapore's membership; and (c) how will Singapore's economy benefit from this involvement in the long term.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many HDB blocks are currently without fire engine access roads; (b) how does HDB ensure that all older blocks built in the 1980s or earlier are provided with fire engine access roads or acceptable alternatives; (c) whether there are guidelines that HDB must adhere to regarding the maintenance of such roads or alternatives; and (d) how does HDB ensure that regular and appropriate maintenance are carried out.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to the pricing of2-room HDB flexi-flats on short lease, what is the rationale for setting a higher price for first-timer single, divorced or widowed applicants under the Single Singapore Citizen Scheme compared to those applying under other schemes.